Social Safety Theory: A Biologically Based Evolutionary Perspective on Life Stress, Health, and Behavior.

Annual Review of Clinical Psychology
George M Slavich

Abstract

Social Safety Theory hypothesizes that developing and maintaining friendly social bonds is a fundamental organizing principle of human behavior and that threats to social safety are a critical feature of psychological stressors that increase risk for disease. Central to this formulation is the fact that the human brain and immune system are principally designed to keep the body biologically safe, which they do by continually monitoring and responding to social, physical, and microbial threats in the environment. Because situations involving social conflict, isolation, devaluation, rejection, and exclusion historically increased risk for physical injury and infection, anticipatory neural-immune reactivity to social threat was likely highly conserved. This neurocognitive and immunologic ability for humans to symbolically represent and respond to potentially dangerous social situations is ultimately critical for survival. When sustained, however, this multilevel biological threat response can increase individuals' risk for viral infections and several inflammation-related disease conditions that dominate present-day morbidity and mortality.

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Citations

Aug 28, 2020·The British Journal of Nutrition·Ana Heloneida de Araújo MoraisThaís Sousa Passos
Oct 29, 2020·Journal of Health Psychology·Jennifer MalatGeorge M Slavich
Nov 10, 2020·Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, and Allied Disciplines·Theodore F Robles
Dec 15, 2020·Stress and Health : Journal of the International Society for the Investigation of Stress·Steven J LamontagneMary C Olmstead
Jan 16, 2021·Journal of Youth and Adolescence·Naoise Mac GiollabhuiLyn Y Abramson
Dec 29, 2020·Frontiers in Psychology·Paul Gilbert
Feb 15, 2021·Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews·Josefien DedonckerGeorge M Slavich
Jan 26, 2021·IScience·Tony J Prescott, Julie M Robillard
Feb 27, 2021·Stress : the International Journal on the Biology of Stress·Shari Young KuchenbeckerGeorge M Slavich
Dec 11, 2020·Brain, Behavior, and Immunity·Jessica Z K CaldwellGeorge M Slavich
May 8, 2021·Australian Journal of Psychology·Kelly-Ann AllenGeorge M Slavich
May 2, 2021·Brain, Behavior, and Immunity·Laura I HazlettNaomi I Eisenberger
Apr 21, 2021·Stress and Health : Journal of the International Society for the Investigation of Stress·Goran MilasGeorge M Slavich
Aug 24, 2021·Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience·Iryna S Palamarchuk, Tracy Vaillancourt

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BETA
amputation
cesarean section

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